Rurouni Nibunnoichi
by OffCenterFold
Summary: "It seemed like a good idea at the time."  How many fateful stories begin that way?  When a training trip to China goes awry, and a visitor from so close yet so far away ends up visiting, how will the Kenshingumi cope?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

_The concept and characters of Ranma 1/2 belong to Takahashi Rumikosan. Rurouni Kenshin and its characters belong to Nobuhiro Watsukisan. _

Himura Kenshin knelt over a steaming washtub, up to his elbows in laundry. There had once been a time when he had felt relaxed at his chores; not so more recently. It had all started with that trip to China.

It had been Kaoru's idea, of course. Sano thought she was crazy when she suggested it, but when she teased that the only reason he didn't like the idea of boats, he took it as a challenge.

"I don't hate boats!" He'd been outraged, but continued in an embarrassed mutter, "It's trains I don't trust."

Even Megumi had liked the idea. "It's a wonderful idea. I think we could all use a vacation." And of course Yahiko was not going to argue; Kaoru was smart enough not to tell him until they were already en route that one of their destinations was a famous training ground.

"That's your problem. You're too nice these days."

Kenshin didn't realize he had spoken aloud until Sano commented, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Oro?" Kenshin looked up from the laundry, startled. Sagara Sanosuke looked back at him, grinning arrogantly around a fishbone and leaning against the porch.

"You're nice enough to be a woman. I think you'd make someone a great wife."

Kenshin's eyes narrowed but he said nothing, returning instead to his laundry. It wasn't like Sano didn't have worries of his own. Why did the guy have to be so puerile? Granted, he was nearly a decade younger than Kenshin, but he was still old enough to know better. And besides...

Apparently his look said it all as for once, Sano let it drop. Kenshin noticed he'd been doing more of that since they'd returned. He didn't leave, however; his attention was caught by a figure coming up to the gate.

"Oiy, Fox, what brings you skulking around?"

Takani Megumi glared at him. It had been annoying enough when he'd called her Fox before. Now, it bordered on intolerable.

"Why don't you go play with your little friends? Then again, I'm sure some nice farm has some extra corn they'd be willing to feed you."

Sanosuke tried to toss it off with a sarcastic, "Oh, you wound me. The Fox has teeth." But his eyes betrayed his hurt.

"Konnichiwa, Megumidono."

"Kensan! Just the man I've been looking for. I wanted to tell you I've been making progress towards some sort of antidote." She smiled. "It's not much, but I think I'm beginning to understand how it works, and knowing that may help find the remedy."

"That's great! What have you found?" Kenshin's eyes widened with hope. Maybe his lot wasn't quite so awful as the others', but it certainly was awkward.

"Don't get too excited yet, Kenshin. Besides, I think this is a good thing for you."

"Sano, stop being such a chickenhead. Oh, dear me, I'm sorry. I should have remembered you truly can't help it, can you." She smiled sweetly (a little too sweetly for Sano's taste). He growled.

"Just talk, onna."

She smiled at Kenshin. "I admit, it's not much, but the water only seems to act on people. That means whatever is in it has very specific instructions. The bad news is it may not be possible to cure just by using the same water with the right instructions."

He nodded. "Any start is a good one."

"Oh yeah, real good." Sanosuke was still grouching over the chickenhead remark. He was very sore about that, now more than ever. Not that he was a bad guy, he knew. He had his flaws but that had been a low blow.

Besides, being a chicken had to have its merits. Didn't it?

Things had gotten much more strained at the Kamiya Dojo since that fateful trip. Not that anyone would be leaving the "Kenshingumi" but even Kenshin's normally even temper was fraying.

Yahiko, of course, chose that moment to walk in. He assessed the situation in a moment, and being in a good mood, quipped "Hey, Kenshin, why are Sano and Megumi growling at each other like animals?" He grinned.

Right into Sanosuke's foot.

"Itai... What'd ya do that for, you big jerk?" Yahiko glared at Sano over the foot planted in his face.

"Don't be such an ass, kid. It isn't nice to laugh at other people's misfortunes." Sano finally removed his foot from the boy's face.

"Wow, Sano, I didn't know you had it in you! Sensitivity suits you!" Yahiko ducked before the foot could be replaced.

It was rather true, though. Sanosuke had been much more sensitive about everything since their return. He'd been even more likely to take things personally and retreat, both into himself and to walk away physically. He did so then.

"Sano, wait, I was teasing. What's with him lately anyway?" He turned to Kenshin and Megumi. "Ever since you all took a swim, you've all been acting weird but he's the worst." Yahiko had managed not to fall into any of the springs. In a way, he'd been the lucky one, yet somehow he didn't see it that way...


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a dreary day, but the Kenshingumi members were all in pretty good moods. Even Kaoru hadn't been too picky about training. They had been looking for days when they'd finally stumbled into Jusenkyou.

"Here we are at last. Come on, Yahiko, I've let you off the hook this long!" Kaoru freed her bokken from her shoulder as an elderly Chinese man introduced himself with a lisp and a heavy accent.

"Hewwo and wewcome to Jusenkyou Twaining Gwound. Evewy Spwing has a stowy behind it. Wet me teww you about the histowy."

"You can tell us later," Kaoru chirped. "Right now, we have training to do!" She took off, dragging Yahiko behind her. Sano followed, but Megumi made her way slowly between the lakelets, looking for a place to set up camp for the day.

"This looks like as good a place as any, ne Kensan?" She smiled at the man who had followed her. He smiled back.

"Hai, Megumidono." He helped her set up the blanket quickly. "I'm going to find the others."

She nodded. "I'll finish setting up for lunch."

As Kenshin turned away, Megumi smoothed out the picnic blanket, and was beginning to set out things from the basket when they heard a startled yell and a splash.

"Oro?" Abandoning the site, Kenshin ran towards the sound with Megumi not far behind.

Kaoru was screaming at something brown that thrashed in one of the pools. Yahiko stood a few steps away, looking as if he couldn't make up his mind to attack or laugh. As the others neared, they saw what Kaoru was yelling at.

A large brown rooster glowered up at Kaoru and Yahiko. There was a red bandanna hanging loose around its neck.

Of course, by complete coincidence, the self-styled guide came puffing up at that moment.

"What going on? Ohh, I see. You faww in Spwing of Dwowned Woostew. Vewy twagic stowy of bwown woostew who dwown nine hundwed fowty yeaw ago. Evewyone who faww in spwing is tuwned into woostew."

Yahiko was the first to recover from the initial shock. "A... rooster? Sano's a chicken? THAT chicken?" From shock to disbelief, the rooster watched the boy, but when the latter started to laugh, the former started to climb out of the pool and peck angrily in his direction. Yahiko backed off and tripped over a rock, falling only inches away from being dunked himself. His landing was clean, except for the sharp rock that left a rather unpleasant looking cut on his leg.

"Take it easy, Sano." Megumi seemed to be calm, but then she smirked. "I always knew your true colors would come through someday." Somehow she seemed to be taking this in stride. "Come, Yahiko. I'd like to take a look at that leg."

"That scratch is going to take my leg off," he complained, in what he thought was a low voice.

"That could be arranged too, you know." Megumi smiled brightly and he followed in limping silence. Kaoru followed.

Kenshin eyed the wet avian. "Come on, Sano. We may as well follow them."

The guide watched them benignly. "Is okay. When he go in hot watew, he be okay. But in cowd watew, is back to being woostew!"

Sano looked ready to kick the guide, chicken legs or otherwise, but Kenshin intervened. "Do you have any plain hot water handy, then?"

The guide looked back at him steadily. "Not hewe, but at home is kettwe. Easy to make hot watew."

"Could you please?" The rurouni looked at his friend. "I'm sure he's not very happy the way he is right now."

The guide nodded and trotted away.

Kenshin turned back towards the picnic blanket. Sano followed him and stood over the open basket, angrily pecking at it for all he was worth while Megumi finished bandaging up Yahiko's leg. Kaoru watched the doctor, trying to learn what she could.

"Sano, don't you think you should wait for us to eat?" Kenshin smiled a little nervously. Then again, patience never had been one of the younger man's strong suits. Sano glared at him when Kaoru turned, saw, and screamed.

"Sano, you jerk!" She raised her bokken and started on a downward swing towards the chicken.

THWACK!

Kaoru blinked when she realized her movement had been halted.

"That's got to hurt," Yahiko commented, bending his knee slowly. Kenshin's hand was wrapped around the wooden blade.

"Kaorudono, both of you are going to have to get used to it until we can find a cure, but I think he's having a difficult enough time right now." The redheaded rurouni was calm, smiling reassuringly.

The chicken squawked righteous indignation. Then he looked outraged and very embarrassed. Sano did not seem to like his new form very much.

"Oh, I suppose so. But chickens are such messy creatures." Kaoru did not look happy about it as she replaced the weapon at her back. "And they eat so much!" She did not stop glaring at Sano.

"Kaoruchan, this doesn't change anything. He's still Sano." Jaws dropped as the others looked at Megumi, who smiled sweetly.

"She's not-" Yahiko was cut off.

"You said it yourself, Kaoruchan. He's a messy creature, and eats far beyond his means."

Just then the guide came back with a steaming kettle, some of the contents of which he poured over Sano's head.

"Ah! That's HOT!" Sano was startled into exclaiming. The others looked at him, reddening.

"Oro.."

"Ah, Sano? You're.. Not..."

"Kensan?"

"Oro?"

"Well someone has to bring his clothes back, Kenshin." Yahiko was the only one who seemed to still be attached to reality. Sanosuke did exhibit the presence of mind to try and assume a position of modesty.

"Orooo?" Kenshin had that "why me" look.

"Oh, fine, I'll do it." Yahiko went back the way they had come.

"What are you all looking at?" Sano glared, but somehow it had less impact when he wasn't wearing anything but a crookedly tied red bandanna.

Kaoru and Megumi suddenly looked elsewhere. Any elsewhere. Their faces were quite red and as Kaoru later murmured to Megumi, "You know, I never realized he was quite that built." The older woman could find no argument.

Kenshin started studying the damage Sano had done to the picnic basket, and decided it would last long enough to get them back to Japan, and that it could be repaired. The guide had stood blandly through the whole episode.

"What you think, cwothes change fowm when he do? That siwwy of you! Onwy pewson change shape, not cwothes."

"Thank you oh so very much for telling me that in ADVANCE!" It was not Sano's usual sarcasm, nor was he speaking as politely as he might. Fortunately, that was when Yahiko returned with Sanosuke's wet clothes.

Megumi and Kaoru managed to look busy unpacking the lunch while he dressed. "Why don't we just eat and leave? I don't think this training ground is such a good idea." Kaoru remained involved in her task.

"You can't weave yet! I must teww you aww about Jusenkyou Spwings! Vewy twagic stowies!"

"Later, old man. Right now, I'm hungry." Sanosuke's restoration had not improved his mood, and no one pointed out that he'd damaged a good portion of the picnic basket.

None of them seemed to want to talk much, concentrating on eating and making a break for it. Everyone pitched in to pack.

Megumi picked up the hamper and wobbled backwards. She tried to catch her balance, stepped on a rock, and pitched over.

"Megumidono!" Kenshin caught her but could not stop her from falling, and lost his own balance as well. She tried to pull him upright, praying that leverage was in their favor. An instant later, there were two splashes.

A small russet fox climbed out of one spring, dragging a lavender kimono and blue smock out of the water in her jaws. She looked decidedly unhappy.

"Wow, what a fox!" Sano was glad of the chance for revenge.

"Oh, too bad. You faww in Spwing of Dwowned Vixen. Vewy Twagic story of beautiful red vixen who dwown two hundwed and seventy yeaw ago."

"Kenshin!" Kaoru ran to the edge of the other pool where he had fallen, but hesitated to reach in.

"Is okay. Is onwy Spwing of Dwowned Giww. Wiww not change you, miss."

"Shut up, old man, and get him out of there!" Sano's brief amusement had quickly returned to wrath.

Just then a head bobbed out of the water.

"Hmm. Kenshin, you don't look different." Yahiko looked puzzled. "Well, except your hair is black now."

"Oro?" Kenshin swirled around to look at the hair in question.

"I think he got lucky and fell in a dud." Kaoru looked relieved.

Kenshin smiled and rose out of the water, headed back to ground.

Yahiko, Kaoru, Sanosuke, and Megumi the fox all gaped.

"You, uhh.."

"Yip?" Megumi looked much as Sano had when he'd squawked, except she was still staring in shock at Kenshin.

"Your… Shirt..."

"Wow."

"Oro?" Kenshin looked down.

That was a pretty impressive set of feminine assets.

Feminine assets?

Kenshin said the only intelligent thing that came to mind. "Oroooroooo..." Followed by another splash.

Kaoru and Sanosuke grabbed Kenshin's arms where they lay out of the water and dragged the rurouni out of the pond.

"As I say. Youw fwend faww in -"

"Yeah, we know. Spring of Drowned Girl. We could've guessed that. Very tragic story too, I'll bet." Sano glared up at the guide as Kaoru closed Kenshin's shirt. "You still got that hot water?"

The guide shook his head. "I go get now." Kenshin sat up as the old man ambled away.

"Oroo..." He looked down. They hadn't disappeared. They were real. Kenshin somehow managed to resiste the urge to touch them to make sure.

This was embarrassing. He tried to distract himself - only he was a she, now. She tried to distract herself by deciding if this was more embarrassing than, for instance, that time he'd fought the Shinko Ryu.

Actually, the moment had been shortly before that conflict. They'd all been bathing in two separate pools, separated by a hedge, on an invitation given them by Genzaisensei's sister. She'd been with the other women when she'd mentioned the Shinko Ryu as the source of local trouble.

Kenshin had been startled into reacting when he heard the name. He'd burst through the bushes, asking for information, relating how he knew the name of that group and of their treachery. He'd been so intent on his subject that he'd completely forgotten he was wearing a look of determination and absolutely nothing else. That had definitely been embarrassing, not that he had anything to be ashamed of. He had always been careful to keep in shape, but even still. Poor Sano had just undergone something not too different.

Kenshin looked down again. No, this had to be worse. Maybe he remained clothed, but this was definitely not what he'd planned for his life. Not that being a woman was necessarily a bad thing, but it was going to be difficult to relearn Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu with a whole new center of balance.

Balance. Would his sakabattou feel the same, have the same heft? Kenshin's mind considered the implications, trying to avoid dealing with the outright reality of the abrupt change. Balance the shock with something familiar, take the time to adjust to the situation, and since he didn't have any other foes but fact, he could handle this. He reviewed techniques, practicing inside his head. New stances, maybe, a few new tricks. Maybe this could have its advantages.

He - she - looked up. Why was the world spinning?

Kenshin wondered if Sano and Megumi had had quite the same trouble adjusting. While there was the slight drawback of being trapped in a non-human form, they at least maintained their own genders!

"Kensan? Are you all right?" Megumi emerged from the bushes where she had dressed, closing the last tie on her doctor's smock. She knelt by his side and felt his wrist. "His pulse is normal, especially considering the shock he must be in. Or should I say her?" She paused. While she pondered, Kaoru upturned the rest of the warm water in the kettle over Kenshin's head.

"Oro?"

"You say that more than any ten people combined. But it is good to see you back to what passes for normal for you."

"Sano, come off it. I don't have to tell you that this is a difficult experience to go through." Megumi's manner had no hint of teasing. Sano took note, made an overstated double take, and opened his mouth.

"Oiy, Fox, no need to get snappish."

Yahiko couldn't resist. "Why, Sano, are you actually chickening out?"

For once, the tall ex gangster remained silent, only glaring with an ill-concealed desire to kick the kid into next year. Kaoru knelt at Kenshin's other side.

"He does make a swell babe, ne Yahiko?" Sano said in an aside. Yahiko tried to look innocent, but the vigorous nodding motion of his head spoiled the effect.

Neither was very much surprised by the bokken their heads encountered then.

"Kensan, I think it's time we called the vacation off, ne?" Megumi looked around, but the guide was nowhere in sight.

Kaoru thought it was astonishing, how he could appear and disappear at the most opportune - or awkward - moments. "Oh, Megumisan, don't say that!" The idea did not sit well with Kaoru. All that planning, and now... "Just a few more days! I won't even, I mean, I'll... Oh, just a few more days!" She looked pleadingly at the others.

"Megumidono has a point. I don't think that any of us," Kenshin gestured to himself and the other two victims of the waters, "are much in the mood for any more vacation."

"Oh, come on, Kenshin. Don't say no. Think about it. We don't have to eat Kaoru's cooking on vacation!" Yahiko ducked the bokken his sensei swung half-heartedly. He'd been getting better at that, somewhat.

"Oiy. Kenshin, it's not such a bad idea. And Yahiko has as much of a point as the onnasensei. It's nice to have a chance to get away."

Kenshin looked at Megumi. As much as he was enjoying this vacation, this was a bit stressful. Yet, if everyone else wanted it, he couldn't very well spoil the whole thing.

"Anything you say, Kensan. Although, we could go back without them, too, ne?" She snuggled up to him, playing idly with his wet hair.

"Oro?"

For some reason, Kaoru didn't seem to like that idea. "No Way! If you go back, I go! You're not going to pull that one over!"

Megumi looked wounded and innocent. "Why, Kaoruchan, what are you saying? Are you suggesting I would try to take advantage of Kensan in his condition? In OUR condition?" She cuddled in closer to Kenshin, who looked very panicky by that point. Apparently, however, not panicky enough for Kaoru - he was still letting himself be embraced, after all. Kaoru raised her bokken and waved it threateningly. She didn't THINK she would ever hit Megumisan, but...

"Such a violent woman." Megumi shook her head as the younger woman boiled.

"Yare, yare." Kenshin tried to call peace between the two, though Kaoru didn't think he was trying hard enough to extricate himself from Megumi's arms. "I really don't think this is necessary."

"Anything you say, Kensan." Megumi rested her head on his shoulder.

Kaoru charged.

Megumi and Kenshin ducked automatically.

Kaoru turned. Slipped in the mud.

Splashed.

"Bets on a tanuki, anyone?" Sano's dry tone showed his doubt. Whoever was running this life was sick and twisted, but the odds were too high. So he thought.

Seemed that predictability was the theme of the day. Sano did a double take when a tanuki with a wide blue ribbon around its neck crawled out of the pond. He tried not to laugh, but it was just too unreal.

"Someone up there really is a sadist." Yahiko was snorting, trying to hold back laughter.

Kenshin looked at the glowering tanuki. "You do have to admit, Kaorudono, it is a little ridiculous. And there are worse things to be than a tanuki." He looked at the guide standing next to him. He blinked. Standing next to him? Ah well. "Do you have any more hot water?"

"No, sowwy. Fiwe buwnt out. It take coupwe houw to make new fiwe." The guide shrugged.

"I think we should get out of here while at least one of us is still safe." Megumi looked at Yahiko.

"Maybe we could just dunk him somewhere." Sano looked at the boy speculatively. "Either that, or create a Spring of Drowned Brat."

"Ah, no, that's okay, I'm ready to go back to training, come on, let's go!" Yahiko was a sudden whirlwind of activity, rechecking that everything was packed, slinging the half-eaten picnic hamper and his belongings on his back, and running for the gates. "Last one out's a rotten egg!"

"Someone should slap him for that." The others laughed, somewhat ruefully.

"Is there such a spring?"

"I wonder why he's in such a rush." Sano lifted Kaoru's baggage alongside his own.

Kenshin picked up the tanuki in his arms, seemingly oblivious to Megumi's dark look. "I hope you don't mind, but it will be faster for me to carry you, Kaorudono."

No one was much surprised when she did not protest. Megumi stormed off ahead after Yahiko.

"Megumidono seems upset." Kenshin blinked at her sudden change of attitude. Could a tanuki smirk? Kaoru looked like she was. "I'm sure it's just the shock of it all."

The younger man looked at his friend with a studious expression. Was he really that naive? Sano knew he didn't have THAT much experience with women, but even he knew the reason for Megumi's sudden fit. "I'm sure that's it. You know the Fox." He shook his head slightly, but Kenshin wasn't watching him anymore.

Then again, one could never tell exactly what the former hitokiri was thinking. Sanosuke little doubted his friend knew of the older woman's powerful attraction to him, though he also suspected that attraction was not love. He thought he'd seen her watch him, sometimes, and she certainly had taken long enough to look away when he'd changed back from being a chicken.

Not that he'd ever admit it aloud, but the foxy lady doctor set his pulse racing like no fight ever had, not even when he'd been learning under Sagara-taicho when the Sekihou Tai had been strong, not even his fights against Kenshin.

He snapped out of his thoughts as they reached the edge of the training grounds, where Yahiko waited anxiously and Megumi stood looking as calm as ever. Sano wondered if anyone else noticed her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at the tanuki-girl.

He reminded himself yet again that he at least was not jealous.


	3. Chapter 3

Yahiko looked from Megumi to Kenshin, still a little thrown by Sano's behavior. He'd always teased the older boy about Megumi, and vice versa, convinced they were secretly in love but couldn't admit it yet even to themselves. But since that damned vacation, the others had all been overly sensitive and snappish.

He wondered what it must be like to have to be so careful around water all the time. On the other hand, if he was not in the mood to practice, all he had to do was douse Kaoru in cold water. Could it really be that easy? And why had the idea never occurred to him before, in the three weeks since their return?

"Kensan, have you seen Kaoruchan? I think I should tell her too."

"She's still at the other dojo. She said she'd be home later, since she wanted to pick up some things on the way home, 'before Sanosuke got his hands on the money,' she said." Yahiko smirked as he told Megumi, and Kenshin smiled, knowing the younger woman was right. The doctor agreed.

"Well, you won't hear me arguing that," she laughed as she moved closer to the washtub, kneeling so she could speak to the rurouni without Yahiko overhearing. Fortunately, he had gone back to washing the floors. "Kensan, I hate to admit it but I'm worried about Sanosuke. Yahiko's right, he has been acting strangely. I don't think he's been able to adapt to the change."

"Megumidono, it hasn't been easy for any of us."

"I know, Kensan, but Sano doesn't seem himself at all lately. He doesn't even tease back anymore."

Kenshin looked thoughtful. "Yes, he does seem to get upset more easily lately, but I'll talk to him if it will help." He pushed up his sleeves and dove back into the laundry. "I'd like to finish this before the water cools off."

"Thank you, Kensan. May I help at all?"

The rurouni smiled. "I'd appreciate it," he said as she pushed up her sleeves and knelt next to him.

"What a cute picture!" It was hard to tell if Kaoru was being sarcastic as she closed the gate behind her several minutes later. "Where has the lazy bum gone off to?"

Kenshin and Megumi looked to the porch. Yahiko had vanished, his job unfinished, and Sano was nowhere in sight.

"Shirking work as usual, then? I'll fix Yahiko, that's for sure!" Kaoru grinned and took a deep breath. "Yahiko-CHAN!" she screamed loudly.

"Don't call me CHAN!" echoed back from behind the dojo just before a red faced Yahiko charged up.

Kaoru caught hold of him by his shirt and dragged him inside the building, not noticing the bucket he'd held behind his back.

"Kaorudono, he's got -"

Splash.

"...Water..." Kenshin looked down in relief; he had not been hit, nor had Megumi.

As Yahiko had intended, however, the tanuki that emerged from Kaoru's clothes was drenched and quite irate.

Sano had appeared behind Yahiko and seemed to find all this funny.

Megumi leaned forward to Yahiko and whispered something in his ear. The boy grinned and flung the remaining contents of the bucket on the former gangster.

The next thing that Yahiko was aware of, an angry rooster was chasing him around the dojo, followed closely by a ribbon-wearing tanuki as Megumi leaned on Kenshin, laughing delightedly while the red-haired rurouni tried not to laugh too hard himself.

"Yare, yare..."

"As long as it isn't us," Megumi gasped out, "we should be grateful."

"Don't give them any ideas." Kenshin looked panicky. That's the last thing we need to happen!" He pulled his shirt tighter around him in a gesture he had learned rapidly over the past month since his initial transformation.

"What are you so worried about, Kensan? At least you stay a person. Besides, you make a very attractive woman, you know." She winked at him. "Why, if I were a man when you were a woman, I'd trAAAH!" Whatever she'd been about to say was cut off as a disgruntled looking Kenshin wrung out linens over her head, drenched with water which was no longer warm as he resumed hanging up the laundry.

"Yip!" The fox that poked its head out off Megumi's crumpled kimono looked no less happy than her counterparts.

Yahiko, however, had seen and nearly fell down from laughing. He was distracted enough that Sano caught up to him. Unfortunately for Yahiko and Sanosuke both, the younger boy hadn't stopped running and tripped over Sanosuke and went flying.

Kenshin caught him, but being caught by surprise with insufficient leverage, he tripped backwards (predictably) into the cooled-down washtub.

Now she had a ten year old boy in her lap, and he was looking at her shirt. Her open shirt.

She stood up, pulling it closed and arranging her wet black hair to cover as much of her front as possible. Stepping out of the tub, Kenshin stormed inside, not looking back at her friends.

Yahiko sat in the tub, looking nervously at the tanuki, the fox, and the rooster who were all standing around him and glaring.

The sound of clanking pots gave him hope. "Hey, listen. Kenshin's boiling water. In a few minutes you'll all be back to yourselves?" He tried shrinking into the tub and away from the other three. Oh, if looks could kill... "I'm in big trouble, aren't I." Three animals nodded in vigorous unison. Yahiko tried for a nervous laugh as he huddled closer inside the tub. "Sano? Megumi? Kaoru? You know it was only a joke, right?"

Three angry gazes didn't waver. Three stubborn heads remained still.

"I'd start praying if I were you." Kenshin said as she reappeared in the doorway. She gathered up Megumi's Kimono and Kaoru's ghi. "I'll take these to your room, Kaorudono, so you can change back in there." The tanuki and the fox nodded, not taking their eyes off the cowering boy.

Sano's gaze did stray, and he watched the former hitokiri's motions with fascination. It was as if he could forget that was Kenshin. She was absolutely beautiful, a body that wouldn't quit and the moves of a dancer. Long black hair fell past her waist and he could easily gave picked her up with one arm, but the X shaped scar on her cheek spoke of a strength that penetrated through flashing violet eyes.

As soon as she was inside, however, the chicken rejoined the fox and the tanuki in staring down the nervous boy in the washtub.

"Oiy, Sanosuke, you wouldn't hurt a friend, right? Who else is there to take your side against Kaoru's cooking!

"But she is doing so much better, isn't she, Sanosuke? And such a wonderful sensei too!" Yahiko swallowed. "She's even kinda pretty!"

The chicken looked vaguely thoughtful, and the tanuki was almost preening, but the fox was unmollified. She growled low in her throat, glaring at the boy, definitely displeased. Yahiko tried sinking into the tub even further, although he was already squinched up as far as he could go.

"Megumisan, you saved my life the day we met! You're the best doctor in the world! You're not supposed to hurt anyone, right? Doctors are suppose to... HELP!" He gave up and prayed for intervention. The fox, still looking unconvinced, had begun to leap for the boy when a body interposed itself.

"Take it easy, Megumidono," Kenshin said as she caught the fox and cradled her to her own bosom. Suddenly, she seemed quiet and looked up at the normally red-haired rurouni with big, sad fox eyes. "Come on, let's get you changed." She handed one of the kettles she carried to Yahiko. "Go take Sano to get changed and save me some of that water. I have another pot of water inside." She smiled at Kaoru, who seemed to be having a fit of temper. "I'm not about to carry you both at once with the hot water, Kaorudono. I hope you don't mind following, or I'll come right back if you prefer." Kenshin smiled art the tanuki as the fox nestled in closer to her chest and all but stuck her tongue out at Kaoru.

Kenshin walked inside. Kaoru didn't follow. She set Megumi down on a towel in the middle of the floor and picked up the hot kettle. Holding it over her head, she turned away and closed her eyes as she poured half the contents out on the vixen and then himself, trying not to think about the naked and beautiful woman on the floor behind him.

"I must apologize, Megumidono, for dousing you before."

"Mmm, thank you, Kensan." He heard her rise and step up behind him. "It's all right. Let me give you a hug." Her arms were around the rurouni before she could blink

"Oroo!" She wasn't dressed yet! This was not good, this could not be good, it was too good and Kaoru would have a fit! Yet a part of him wondered if it meant something else because his body was sometimes a woman's, too... This was just too confusing.

After an eternal moment, Megumi let go, and Kenshin heard the sounds of fabric sliding on skin. "Kensan, could you help me with -"

"I've got to get Kaorudono!" Kenshin gave up trying to look calm. He smiled as he raced out of the room and came back seconds later with a smug, yet irked looking tanuki in his arms. He tried to put her down on the towel but she was strong for such a seemingly small animal.

"Oro? Kaorudono, don't you want to change back?" The tanuki nodded. "Then you have to let go." The tanuki shook her head.

"Well, I'm not changing you back with him in the room. He didn't look at me and he certainly won't look at you." Megumi was somehow fully dressed and as impeccably groomed as always in spite of Kenshin's panic at her request for help.

Kenshin finally extricated himself from the tanuki's grasp and left the room in another near panic. Megumi picked up the pot and gently poured its contents over Kaoru. "We may not always agree, Kaoruchan, but that doesn't mean we can't treat each other well," she said as the younger woman looked at her oddly. "I know how uncomfortable it is, you know. Besides, I need your help."

"My help?" Kaoru slipped her shirt on and looked at Megumi, her confusion evident.

"We've got to get the brat, and get him good." Megumi got that look in her eyes, the one that screamed how sweet revenge could taste. "We might get Sano and even Kensan in on it, but we must get revenge on Yahiko." She looked intently at the doorway. "Especially since this whole thing is his fault for causing all that trouble at the Springs."

Kaoru blinked. "He really didn't cause all that much trouble."

"If not for him, none of us would be where we are right now. We wouldn't have to cringe every time we saw cold water. We could go to the beach. We could - well, remember when we visited Genzaisensei's sister?" Megumi winked, pretending not to feel the flush on her own cheeks. "Kensan did look awfully delicious wearing that look of determination, ne?"

Kaoru looked like she was not sure if she should hurt the other woman or go along with it as she finished dressing. Her own face reddened. "We're getting off of the topic. The point is revenge on Yahiko, isn't it?

Sanosuke appeared in the doorway. "I'm all for it. Kenshin's making that brat hang the laundry right now but I'll bet even he would agree!"

"Now that we're agreed, how shall we go about it?" Megumi looked thoughtful.

It felt a little ridiculous, the idea of four (assuming Kenshin agreed) grown up people (mostly) plotting revenge against a ten year old boy. It wasn't an easy task either, and luck seemed far away until they were distracted by the sounds of a new voice in the yard. All three emerged to investigate.

"... for Fuurinkan High School. Is that near here?"

"I'm afraid I've never heard of it," Kenshin answered the stranger, dressed oddly in yellow and black. "Are you sure it's in Tokyo?"

The boy - about Kaoru's age - looked ready to scream. "Yes." He blinked. "I think. Are you sure this is Tokyo?"

"Are you nuts, kid? Kenshin don't lie, and I think he'd know where he lives." Sano looked casual, but his friends could tell he was alert. His eyes were narrowed and the fish bone he chewed jumped frantically.

The boy looked back, just as ready to fight as Sano.

"Take it easy, Sano. He's a stranger here, and this is my dojo." Kaoru's voice was soft but the warning was clear.

"You know, Kaoru, he's kind of cute. You two might look well together, hmm?" Megumi smiled in an aside and Sano could have sworn she had fox ears, water or no. He kept glaring.

"Easy, easy. There's no need to fight." Kenshin turned to the boy at the gate. "I'm Himura Kenshin. This is Kaorudono's dojo."

The named party stepped forward. "I'm the leader of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. Welcome to my home." She smiled. "The loudmouth over there is Sagara Sanosuke, and this is Takani Megumi. She's a doctor. Can we help you at all?"

The guy was staring at her. Kaoru prayed he wasn't thinking what she thought he was thinking.

"I'm Hibiki Ryouga. I'm from Tokyo, but... Can I use your phone?"

Blank stares greeted his query. Ryouga scratched his head. "Ummm.. What day is it?

"Monday."

"Monday what?"

"May 15, Meiji 11."

"Mei...ji... Umm... Wasn't that in the 1800s?"

"It IS the 1800s, kid." Sano looked at Ryouga just in time to watch him blink twice before he fell over in a dead faint.


	4. Chapter 4

"Kensan, take his head. Sano, help him take Hibikisan inside." The two men automatically did as the doctor told them. "Yahiko, get me some warm water and cloths please? Kaoru, I'll need my kit." As Kenshin and Sanosuke lay her patient down, Megumi knelt and took his pulse. Taking the cloth from Yahiko, she wet it and asked Kenshin to boil water for tea. 

As she wiped his face gently with the wet cloth, Ryouga began to come around. "Wha.. what happened?" 

"You fainted. Partly from shock. And when's the last time you ate?" 

Ryouga shook his head. "I don't remember." 

"What year did you think it was, anyway?" Yahiko piped up, looking at the stranger with blunt cynicism. 

"It's 1990 where I'm from. You're kidding, right? About this being the Meiji era? I've walked into a movie, haven't I?" But Ryouga knew, by looking at the four faces around him that they were serious, and there was no movie. 

The hot doctor was talking again, and hallucination or not, she was a babe. "You don't have a fever, but you do need to balance your blood sugar. The shock didn't help. Lie still for a while and we'll get you something to eat." 

Ryouga had been about to protest but the promise of food was infinitely more appealing than getting lost again. Besides, there was a foxy doctor here, and that spunky, pretty girl who reminded him of Akane, only with longer hair. And so much cuter... 

But no! He must never be disloyal to Akane! Somehow he'd gotten more lost than usual and ended up in the past. It wasn't the end of the world. He'd find his way back to her as he always did. Wouldn't he? 

He smiled, hoping he looked as nonchalant as he didn't feel. "Do you know of any place to eat around here? I'll just grab something on my way through town. I'll be out of your way in no time." 

Megumi met Kenshin's eyes as Sano opened his mouth. "There's a great restaurant, the Akabeko -" 

"But there's plenty here, and lunch is just about ready." Kenshin cut off his friend. Sano scowled but let him continue. "There's no reason for you to leave without eating." 

Kaoru looked like she might want to argue the point but kept her mouth wisely shut. It would not do to make a fuss in front of their guest. 

Kenshin rose to set an extra place at the table, but Yahiko could not stop staring at the young man who was now sitting up and playing one-hand catch with his umbrella. "So how'd you manage to get so lost anyway?" 

Ryouga bristled. "I didn't do it on purpose!" 

"Hey, I never said you did. It's just weird that you got thrown off in time too. If you really are from the future. What's it like anyway, where - uhh, when you're from?" Yahiko was torn between skepticism and enthusiasm. The whole notion was so strange. 

Ryouga quelled the desire to hit the loudmouthed kid, even though he knew he'd probably ask the same questions if someone had come back to him in time. Still... 

"Well, it's very different. I think." 

"You think!" 

"Maybe not that different. We have phones and trains and cars -" the kid looked lost so he stopped himself. "Hey, what's your name anyway?" For some reason he'd never been introduced. Maybe he was someone's kid brother. 

"I'm Myoujin Yahiko. I'm practically a master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu." 

Ryouga blinked. "Well then, Myoujinsan, we've got cars -" 

"What's a car?" 

Ryouga was at a loss. Megumi whispered to Kaoru, "Hibikisan's got a friend for life. He didn't call Yahiko 'chan'." 

The younger girl nodded; Megumi was right. The guy was pretty cute. 

"Anyone hungry?" Kenshin appeared with a smile and food. 

But not as cute as Kenshin. 

"...And airplanes which are like really big trains that fly -" 

"Trains that fly!" Sano went white. 

"Uh huh, and televisions so you can watch a show without going out, and microwave ovens, which you can cook in almost instantly without a fire... And air conditioning! So even when it's hot you can go inside and it'll be cool! And we've got computers..." 

"Either he has an incredible imagination, he's completely nuts, or that kid really is from the future." Sanosuke looked skeptical. "Can you imagine what a miracle instant food would be? I bet even jouchan couldn't mess that up!" 

The smirk on his face was quickly wiped off with the aid of a bokken connecting forcefully with his skull. For some reason, Kaoru looked upset. 

Kenshin called everyone to the table as he brought out a steaming dish. Appreciative murmurs came from all around as the food evaporated into six hungry mouths. 

"I hate to admit it but this does make a nice change from Akane's cooking," Ryouga mumbled around a mouthful. "I mean, I love Akane's cooking! But she does tend to overdo a little... Her sister Kasumi's the best. Where I come from anyway." He looked uncertain, but Kenshin was smiling. 

Sano grinned, forgetting his recent collision. "Oiy, jouchan, this Akane of his must be descended from you." 

This time it was an empty platter that graced Sanosuke's cerebral region. 

"Itai... That's starting to hurt! Jouchan, why are you such a violent, tomboyish - itaii!" A second bump sprouted from the first. 

"Yare, yare," Kenshin sighed. 

Ryouga couldn't helpt thinking how like Akane she was, with blue eyes and such long, long hair. And she used a bokken. Other than that she was just like Akane. Except she wore a kimono or a practice ghi, while Akane wore comfortable clothes or a school uniform. 

It was around then that he realized his clothes were very out of place. And so, for that matter, was he. 

How depressing. Ryouga promised himself that if he ever met the sadistic being that had gotten him this lost... Well, it would be one very apologetic being. 

Very apologetic. This was just too much. Ryouga wanted to sleep. 

"Is there someplace I could take a nap around here? I'd better rest before I go off again. This has been hell - no offense." One minute he'd been running through the woods, demanding Saotome's life, the next he was in Tokyo - in the Meiji era. 

"You can stay here if you need to." Kaoru smiled. "Maybe you'd like to study Kamiya Kasshin Ryu while you're here?" 

Another style... Yes. That would be an interesting advantage. He would learn and when he returned, he could defeat Saotome at last... 

Besides, he'd have a cute teacher.


	5. Chapter 5

Ryouga didn't take long to adjust to his new lifestyle. It was certainly a step up from running all over Japan trying to get somewhere. The dojo had the feeling of home, and he slowly learned bits of the past, both general history and how the residents had all met, and the adventures they shared. He also noticed they all seemed to avoid cold water, sending Yahiko out on most errands or taking an umbrella, whether or not it looked like rain.

He wondered if they knew of Jusenkyou, and if they did had they found a cure? It didn't occur to him that if they had, there would be less of a need to avoid cold water. Training with Kaoru wasn't as hard as Yahiko complained it would be, but then Ryouga also had fought with his umbrella instead of the light bokken used at the dojo.

Yahiko told him about a circus that had passed through town some time back and been under pressure from a rival entertainer. The owner had a cute daughter who was shot out of a cannon as the highlight of the show, which of course was not Yahiko's main interest. Of course. Unfortunately, the proprietor had been attacked by his rival and the circus had been in dire straits until, of course, the Kenshingumi came to the rescue. Kenshin had known tricks with an umbrella that astounded his audience - and felled the attackers while making it look as though it was part of the show.

Kenshin refused to demonstrate, blushing furiously until the others pressured him into it.

It was a couple of days after that when the inevitable finally happened.

Ryouga had been staying with the Kenshingumi for about two weeks. He was impressed - unlike the world he knew, water did not always conveniently fly out at him at the worst possible moments. In fact, in the two weeks he'd been in the Meiji era, he'd managed to avoid cold water flawlessly. And there was almost always a kettle up to boil in the dojo; he'd assumed it was in case anyone wanted tea. He was about to suffer a revelation.

Megumi had asked Kaoru to come to the clinic for the morning to help her out with some research. Sanosuke had vanished at the first sign of work, and Yahiko was given chores to do by his sensei. She also asked Kenshin to do some shopping.

"You have two choices, Ryouga. You can help Yahiko around the house, or you can go with Kenshin and maybe try to learn your way around. But no matter what, if you decide to go with him don't you dare take more than three steps away from him!" Kaoru was adamant. "Although I'm sure you and Yahiko would love to chat about me behind my back."

"Oh no, I would never! I think I'd like to help with the shopping, anyway." Actually, what he really wanted was tips on how to win Kaoru's heart, and he figured Kenshin would know her well enough to give him those pointers. Not that he was forgetting about Akane, of course. But he could never tell her that.

"Figures." Yahiko already seemed to be scheming ways to get out of doing housework. None of them would be very successful in the long run, but he figured it was worth a shot. He glared at his fellow student.

"Well then, I'm off to help Megumisan. You'd better behave yourselves, and we'll have an extra hour of practice this afternoon. Of course, if there's any trouble..." Kaoru let her voice trail off as she smiled brightly, glared warningly, and sauntered off.

"Well, I suppose we'd better go. If we're back soon enough, I'll help with the chores." Ryouga actually meant it. Yahiko looked at him intently.

"Yeah, sure, I'll bet you're so eager to do women's work. Not like the ugly toad ever does any-ITAI!" Ryouga's umbrella cracked down on the youngster's head - rather lightly for the strong young man.

"Don't you DARE talk about Kaorusensei that way! She's your teacher and you treat her with respect!" Ryouga was furious enough not to even notice that he'd used the same technique as Kaoru herself, only with the umbrella rather than a bokken. Kenshin did notice, however, and was impressed at how quickly the young man was learning. He was willing to bet the other had no idea he even knew as much as he did.

Yahiko grumbled and went off to begin scrubbing floors.

"I think we should go now. It may rain later, and I'd not like to be out in it if it does." Kenshin smiled as though to diffuse tensions. Ryouga nodded and they set out. The sky was fairly clear when they left, and there was not much to be done, but the winds were against them and the overcast sky darkened quickly.

Kenshin seemed hurried. "We'll get tofu and we'll go home. It's on the way, so we're in luck, but we shouldn't take too long." He led the way through the streets.

They were very fortunate in that the rain didn't hit until they were most of the way home. Ryouga noticed that Kenshin did seem to pull his shirt tighter around himself before their return trip. But not five minutes before they arrived back at the dojo, the first raindrops fell. And they brought their friends, family, and insurance companies. Or they would have if raindrops in the Meiji era had insurance companies. Either way, they came with a vengeance.

Ryouga opened his umbrella, shielding himself and the purchases he carried from the rain. Kenshin, however, was too busy to notice how paranoid the rain was making Ryouga as he hurried towards home.

"We're almost there." Kenshin's voice seemed higher, Ryouga noticed, and the long red hair now getting soaked by the rain looked black. He shrugged it off, too eager to get back himself to worry about it. Although it was interesting; Ranma's hair went from black to red. Kenshin started out with red hair...

"Nahh." Ryouga decided he must be seeing things. It had never occurred to him to share the umbrella with Kenshin.

"Oro?"

"Oh. Nothing." He hadn't realized he'd spoken aloud, but then conversation was cut short by their arrival at the dojo.

"I'm so glad you two are back! Sano's inside. He had just beaten the rain. I guess you two didn't." Yahiko grinned. "Serves you right for leaving me to do the chores."

"Oiy, oiy. My roof's leaking again. Besides, I'm hungry. What's for lunch?

"Sano, you're always hungry." Kenshin wrung out her hair. "Now can you please go get me the hot water?"

Ryouga blinked at him. "You're a -"

"Kenshin's a guy. Or at least he used to be. Then he got knocked into some spring. He don't like to talk about it." Sanosuke glared. It was one thing for him to tease Kenshin, another entirely for this upstart kid from where- or whenever to try. He himself liked to talk about it even less than his friend did, that much was obvious. Only, Ryouga knew how it was. Somehow, he felt relived that he didn't have to suffer alone - maybe these people needed the same reassurance. He hesitated. It was not a pleasant prospect, and it was admittedly uncomfortable, but at least he could be open with his secret among these people. He took a deep breath.

"I'd like to show you something." Ryouga resolutely laid his umbrella down as Yahiko handed Kenshin the hot water. "Come outside, please."

Sano cracked his knuckles. "I'll just bet."

"Please. I... This is something I have to show you." Ryouga went outside to the porch and began to strip off his shirt.

"Whoa, I ain't into that! None of us are!" Sanosuke was panicking, which brought Kenshin and Yahiko out. Kenshin was wringing out his hair - red - again.

"Wait." Ryouga, now shirtless and umbrella-less, bowed his head and stepped into the rain. The others blinked.

"Bweee..." A mournful little black pig with a yellow and black bandanna around his neck sat looking up at them from where Ryouga had stood a moment before.

"Oro?"

"Hey, kid?" Sanosuke blinked.

There was a moment's pause. "I'm still the only one! I'm still the only one! I'm still the only - oof!" Yahiko's chant was cut off because he was finding out that it was difficult to speak with a foot planted in your face. Not only that but it was painful.

"Bwee?" Ryouga (who wasn't exactly P-chan since no one here knew to call him by that name) crawled up onto the porch. Yahiko gathered the rest of his clothes out of the rain just as a very unhappy fox trotted up alongside a rather depressed-looking tanuki.

"Wow, it's a regular convention around here." Sano sighed and rolled his eyes. No way was he going to go through that willingly!

"Sano turns into a chicken. He even looks like a chicken." Yahiko grinned and ducked Sanosuke's unenthusiastic swipe.

Kaoru-tanuki and Megumi-fox looked at each other and went to the room they shared. Kenshin followed with the teapot and emerged a moment later.

"Kaorudono and Megumidono will be out in a moment." Kenshin looked at the floor. He could never quite stop himself from blushing whenever it was up to him to change them back. And of course, it was usually very difficult for Sano and Yahiko to resist teasing him about it.

"Bweee?" Ryouga looked confused and forlorn.

"Is there any more of that water left? We shouldn't leave him like that." Sano looked uncomfortable.

Kenshin nodded and poured the last of the kettle over Ryouga.

"Ano... Ryougasan?" Megumi and Kaoru, both fully dressed, had walked in at the same moment Ryouga stood up. "Don't you think you're forgetting something?" Her face was nearly as red as Kaoru's, yet she looked away first. Kaoru kept sneaking peaks at the man who had recently been a pig but now shaped up quite nicely.

"Uhhhh," Ryouga said intelligently. Yahiko tossed the young man's clothes at him, grinning wickedly. Ryouga wasn't that slow and grabbed them with one hand, managing to hide himself even though Kaoru and Megumi had turned away. Knowing it wouldn't do much good, he turned his back and dressed quickly. It was a bit of a relief, however, to know he wasn't alone and he did not have to keep it a secret. Some things were simply easier to bear when one didn't have to bear them alone. This was one of them. Ryouga's secret was out and he no longer had to shoulder that burden. Of course, he hadn't had to do so back at home either, but he had hidden his identity from Akane. Here, there was no hiding.

"So what does Yahiko become?"

"Nothing. Unsurprisingly," Sano growled.

"Hey!" He was on top of the taller man's head, chewing in an instant.

Kenshin smiled, embarrassed. "Yare, yare. Yahiko is the only one of us who didn't fall in a spring."

"You'd think he'd learn some real responsibility between that and learning Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, but some lessons he just won't learn!" Kaoru looked irritated.

Yahiko showed no shame. Not that he didn't care, but it wasn't worth the effort of being bashed by Kaoru or Ryouga for saying the wrong thing. He tended to do that a lot, he noticed. And he didn't even have to try. Much.

"I'm just glad it's over."

"What is, Ryouga?"

"That I don't have to hide my shame anymore. I'm still going to kill Saotome, but at last I no longer need live in shame! Finally, my secret is revealed and I no longer need bear this burden alone! Ahh, Ranma, you think you've defeated me but I will find you one day!"

"Ryouga!"

The startled look on his face as he stopped his tirade was priceless. He hadn't made a speech along those lines in more than a week. Now, he colored with shame. It was bad enough that he had to deal with the curse of Jusenkyou. Knowing Kaoru and the others shared it made it better. He had thought he was getting over his resentment at Saotome Ranma. So, it seemed, had Kaoru.

"It's silly to hate someone who won't be born for another hundred years. I know it is. But to me he's just a few more hours' journey, and I though I cannot forget where I am, or when, part of me will not accept it. To never see Akane again, to never know the glory of defeating Saotome Ranma..." Ryouga got caught up in the spirit of revenge until he got another glimpse of Kaoru's very displeased expression. Not, of course, that it made any sense. Why should she look like she was ready to cry?

Kenshin took note of it too and tried to send a message to Megumi. The doctor's compassion kicked in.

"I'm sure we're all hungry. Why don't I make us some sweet potatoes and we can all sit and rest. The rain is not going to let up for a while yet, and there's no sense in fighting each other."

Heads nodded. "Megumisan?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't much help this morning."

"It isn't your fault, Kaoruchan. This isn't one of the easiest projects I've ever asked you to help me with." Megumi smiled reassuringly. "I'll find something, or we'll adjust. Even the chickenhe- I mean Sanosuke." She smiled sweetly at him as she spoke, and he growled at her. Ryouga thought he saw the merest hint of a smile on the former gangster's face as he turned away. Megumi went into the kitchen.

Ryouga followed her in. "May I help?"

"Certainly. If we both wash the potatoes, it will go faster." Megumi smiled and handed him an armload of potatoes. "Now, what's on your mind? I'm fairly sure you didn't come to help simply because you love washing potatoes above all else."

Ryouga looked embarrassed. "Well, I... I was wondering if you might give me advice." He was slipping into more formal speech patterns, looking down as he began to speak several times and changed his mind. "It's.. It is about Kaorusensei I must ask."

"I see. Well, what would you like to know?"

"How may I woo her and win her heart?"

Megumi blinked. Well, at least it wasn't Kenshin asking her that impossible question. She didn't think she could handle hearing that from him. Young Ryouga, however, was a different story entirely. "Win her heart? Well, you could start by studying Kamiya Kasshin Ryu very diligently, which you've already been doing. She admires a man who can fight, but also knows when to let her fight her own battles. She wants to be protected, but at the same time she's very independent. I think that's why she -" Megumi cut herself off before she admitted what was generally accepted to be true.

"That's why she what?"

"Why she... That's why she wants someone... Someone who..." Megumi found it very awkward. She was never at a loss for words! "Maybe you should ask Kensan."

"But Kenshin's another guy! How can he truly understand what a woman wants as well as another woman?" Ryouga blinked as he realized what he'd just said. "Uhh, I mean..."

"He knows what matters." Megumi suddenly made herself very busy with the sweet potatoes Ryouga had finished washing.

"What are you saying? That Kaorusensei cares for Kenshin?"

Megumi said nothing at first. "We all care for Kenshin. We all owe him our lives, or at least our livelihood. If not for Kenshin, quite likely none of us would be here, and some of us would be dead. I certainly would, and probably Kaoru. Yahiko might have been killed or might have survived - he was a pretty street-smart brat when Kensan and Kaoru found him. And Sanosuke, who can tell what that brute would be up to if not for Kensan? So of course Kaoru cares about him. He saved her life and her dojo." She still did not look directly at Ryouga. It wasn't as though she wasn't obvious about it anyway, even though she acted like she was teasing, and it was just as obvious that Sanosuke cared about her in the way Ryouga meant, but there was something about Kenshin that Megumi didn't want to discuss with him. He began to get an idea.

"You're right. I shall ask Kenshin. He shall aid me to win the fair Kaoru's heart! Fear not, Kaoru! I can replace even Kenshin in your estibweeee!" A startled looking black piglet sat where Ryouga had been standing in the kitchen.

Megumi stood over him with a dripping, empty bowl of water. "Ryouga, you're a nice kid, but you've GOT to learn when to shut up! How your Akane ever put up with you I'll never imagine!" She glowered at him a moment longer and returned to her cooking. It dawned on Ryouga that he did sound like Kuno when he got on one of his kicks.


	6. Chapter 6

Sanosuke was fed up. He'd begun to stay in, never going anywhere except for rare trips to his apartment and the inevitable occasional recruitment by Megumi to see if she'd found the cure. From the beginning, they'd all thought it was only fair, and even Ryouga took his turn. Sometimes Megumi would test it on herself, with Ayamechan and Suzumechan standing by to change her back. Apparently, the two little girls thought it great fun when "Big sister Megumi" changed back and forth into a fox. He only wished they didn't laugh at him too. 

It was one thing to turn into a fox, or a tanuki, or even a babe like Kenshin. The only thing chickens were good for, as far as Sano was concerned, was food. He was not very eager to eat of himself, however; in fact ever since the change he'd refused to eat anything with chicken, and often even eggs too. It was just so weak! A chicken! "I hate chickening out!" 

"Don't worry, Sano. I'm about to give up for the day. You've been such a good little guinea chi - I mean, guinea pig." Sanosuke stifled a growl. Barely. "Just one more test, I promise." She thrust a vial at him. "Drink up." 

He glowered but did as he was told, knowing already that putting up a fight would only make matters worse. Still, he wasn't prepared a moment later for the cold water. "Hey!" 

He paused. "Hey, I'm not ch-awk!" Now he was definitely not thrilled. 

Megumi stared. "There was a delay. Sano, there was a delay between the time you got wet and the time you actually changed. I'm finally getting somewhere!" 

The chicken merely glared at her as she began writing furious notes. "Oh, sorry." Absently she emptied the hot kettle over him as she wrote. Sano kept glaring as he dressed hurriedly. 

"You've been a help, actually, I admit I'm surprised." Megumi looked back over her shoulder to grin at him; he was just glad he'd already been getting dressed. Not, of course, that he could honestly say that he'd mind her seeing him, but there were still proprieties to be observed and standards to be met. She may have been a doctor, but she was still a woman, and so far there was nothing mutual, nothing definite. Not that he didn't harbor hopes; one could never tell which way the winds of love blew. He ducked his head so she wouldn't see him blush. 

Megumi pretended not to notice, instead straightening up the various paraphernalia she'd been using. "If you'll give me a moment, I'll stop by the dojo with you and tell the others." 

"Who said I was going to the dojo?" Sano looked indignant but the effect was spoiled as his stomach growled. 

"There's your answer!" Megumi chortled as the tall young man winced. Life was just so unfair. 

He waited for her outside of the clinic, berating himself for being so transparent and cursing the gods or whoever was in control for the ultimate ironic turns his life had been taking so often of late. Trying to ease his mind, he pondered what other people they knew might have become had they fallen into the Jusenkyou springs. The inevitable image of Chou with all his swords becoming a broom caused him to snicker just as Megumi came outside. 

"Something you want to share, or is this a private joke?" The foxy lady doctor eyed the ex-gangster thoughtfully. 

Sanosuke looked at her, caught indecisive for a moment. She would probably appreciate the image, having met the man, but did he actually want to share anything with her? She treated him so roughly. He had to admit it wasn't her fault; she probably had no idea how he felt about her, but nonetheless, it was awkward. 

He shrugged. "I was just thinking about Chou at Jusenkyou." 

"Chou wasn't at Jusenkyou." 

"But imagine if he was!" Sanosuke laughed again and this time Megumi joined him, a moment of camaraderie that embarrassed them both. It was Megumi's turn to look away first, blushing slightly. 

Sano strode out ahead of her, leading the way to the dojo, his mind on the possibility of getting rid of the curse forever. Megumi's mind wandered towards the same destination by a different path; while Sano just wanted it to happen, Megumi had made it her job to make it happen. It would not be an easy task, but with the progress she had made today, she was beginning to grow hopeful. 

Was it possible to delay the change further? If it could be delayed long enough, was it possible to have the victim cancel the effects in advance with hot water? Would the transformation to human form be as delayed as the transformation from? It hadn't been, just now, but there might be more of a delay as the initial change took longer. And was the delay effect on the right path to a cure, or was it a means to alleviate the symptoms? She had asked Ryouga about it, once during his turn at the clinic, and he had mentioned that it was possible to reverse the curse if one used water from the spring equivalent to the nature of their own human forms. The problem was finding the appropriate springs. She wondered, too, if there was an age limit - if, say, Kenshin took a dip in the Spring of Drowned Young Man, would he then change ages between 16 and 29? Or would it merely reverse the effects of Nyannichuan? 

Megumi was so intensely lost in thought as she walked that she wandered off center. By the side of the road was a hole just large enough for a foot somewhat bigger than hers to get caught in and even broken, if one fell wrong. And Megumi's luck was just such that she stepped in the hole. 

Sano turned at her slight scream and saw her go down. He caught her before she fell to the ground but even without medical training, he could see that she was hurt badly enough that she would not be able to walk. 

"I think it might be broken," she said as she looked up at him. Her arms went around his neck as he supported her. "Genzaisensei's not at the clinic. You'll have to carry me to the dojo for now; it's closer than the clinic and I can't walk on it." She looked paler than usual, and she was leaning too heavily on him to be kidding. She wasn't teasing him, and he realized that this might be his chance to get into her good graces. Especially if the ankle was broken, she could not be expected to get around by herself. It would not be misconstrued if he were to help her, especially since she was working on the cure. The sooner she found it, the happier he would be. 

He nodded and picked her up gently, though she cried out again as the injured leg moved. She closed her eyes and he held her carefully, walking as fast as he dared without jarring her back to Kaoru's, where hopefully Kenshin would be able to help her. 

As soon as the dojo came into sight, he called out to those he could see outside. "Oiy, Kenshin!" 

"Sano?" Kenshin looked toward his friend, balancing Suzume carefully on his shoulders. "Sano! What happened?" He set the little girl down and opened the gate as the taller man reached it. 

"She fell, hurt her ankle. I think she fainted." 

"I did not faint. You're the chicken." Megumi opened her eyes, but it was obvious she was fighting the pain with all her strength. He'd been careful, but careful wasn't enough to keep her ankle still. 

"Megumidono, can you stand on it?" 

She shook her head. "I'm afraid I've broken it. If I were paying better attention to where I was going instead of the cure..." She brightened. "Oh! Kensan!" 

"Oro?" 

"I'm getting close!" 

"Oro?" More panicky now, and more confused. 

"To the cure. When I was running the last test today on Sano, there was a delay in the shift. It wasn't much but I may be able to work it so that we can counteract the transformation before it actually happens! I'll have a lot more to do, but I've finally begun getting somewhere!" 

Kenshin smiled happily as Kaoru came out of the dojo. "That's wonderful!" 

"What is?" 

"Oiy, jouchan. The doc here's actually making progress towards curing us." 

"That is wonderful! But what happened?" 

"She fell on the way back." Sano looked as nonchalant as he could. 

"Is it broken?" 

"It might be. I wasn't looking where I was going, and stepped into a hole near the side of the road. Do you know how soon Genzaisensei is due back?" 

Kenshin shook his head. "Not for a while yet." 

Megumi nodded. "That's true. He usually does take most of the day when he's making house calls." She sighed. "I'll need your help." 

"What do you want me to do, Megumisan?" Kaoru laid her bokken aside. 

"Where's Yahiko?" 

"He's actually inside, practicing. He's gotten more serious about it, you know. He's into this competition with Ryouga apparently. It's kind of cute, like when Yutaro was studying here." 

Megumi nodded. "I'll need to make a cast, but I don't have anything for it with me. All the materials are back at the clinic. Plaster of Paris isn't the sort of thing you want to be carrying around all the time." Megumi smiled ruefully. "I'll need strong but light bandages too, and warm water - not too hot, but not cool either. Although I think I'd rather wait for Genzaisensei." 

"Are you implying I can't do this myself?" Kaoru bristled at the implication. 

"I'm implying that I'd like to be examined by a colleague before I diagnose myself," Megumi answered calmly. "Now, Sano, I admit this is not all that uncomfortable, but would you please put me down?" 

"Oh yeah." Sanosuke looked a little disgruntled. "Where?" 

"Near the porch, so I can lean on the pillar and elevate my leg. If you wouldn't mind, Kaoruchan, would you get me a few large rocks? About the size of a sweet potato, just for a small barricade." 

"Umm, sure, but what do you need a barricade for?" 

"So no one trips over my leg by accident." 

Kaoru nodded. "That makes sense." She smiled as she looked around the yard for suitable rocks. 

Sano set Megumi down carefully where she had indicated. Her left ankle was swollen painfully and already beginning to bruise. From the way she winced as she moved it even slightly, it was obvious she was in far more pain than she was letting on. 

"Would it help if you were a fox? Maybe it would hurt less or something." 

Megumi was glad for the distraction. "No, Kaoru. It would actually be more harmful to change now. If it is in fact broken, the shifting of the bones during the change would do more damage, not to mention hurt more. It's a good thought, but not very practical. It would make getting around much easier on four legs, though much harder to work on the cure." 

"That settles that then, no changing for you." Sano looked alarmed at the possibility that he would have much longer to wait for his cure. 

"I think we should allow Megumisan a few days to rest before she starts working on the cure again. After all, when one of you gets hurt in a fight, you don't rush out right away looking for another one. Megumisan, please stay here at the dojo for a few days while your leg starts to get better. After all, you've been doing so much that the least we can do is help you out when you need it. Right everyone?" 

"Hai. Kaorudono's right. You should take it easy for a few days." Kenshin smiled and that signed it for Megumi. 

"I suppose I can't argue with you." She smiled back. 

Sano stepped inside the dojo to examine the source of the yells. Yahiko and Ryouga were so absorbed in their training battle that they hadn't even noticed the minor commotion outside. Sano leaned against the wall to watch. 

Both students were getting to be pretty good, he noticed. It seemed now that Yahiko had some competition, he had a will to fight for his place as number one. Competition was a powerful driving force, the ex-gangster knew. It had kept him going for years before he met the Kenshingumi. He'd had to compete against time, the government, and himself, not to mention the various fights he'd been in. And that was not to mention the competition he felt with Kenshin for the love of a beautiful, intelligent woman... 

But now was not the time to dream of her. "Oiy oiy, don't you two have something better to do than kill each other all the time?" 

"Not really." Yahiko and Ryouga paused, short of breath. "This glory hog ain't gonna get the better of me no matter what!" 

"Who're you callin' a glory hog?" Ryouga didn't strike at Yahiko again. It was pretty obvious that he understood the way of things around this dojo. Friendship and affection ran deep, underneath a rough surface of coarse teasing and rivalry. It was too complicated to understand the nuances of the relationships at the Kamiya dojo without experiencing them directly. 

"See any other pigs around here?" 

"Just a brat!" 

"Why don't you two shut up and come outside? Maybe actually do something useful and help the onnasensei." 

"Since when did you ever care about being useful?" Yahiko shot the tall young man a shocked look even as he started outside. 

"What happened to Megumisensei?" Ryouga's look had more concern. He hadn't quite figured out the friendly rivalry between the men and the women yet. 

Sano shrugged. "She's outside. Why don't you go ask her yourself?" 

Ryouga and Yahiko headed outside after Sano. One look informed them of the situation. 

"Ow. That's gotta hurt." Yahiko looked in fascination at her swollen ankle. 

"Who did this to you! You must be avenged!" Ryouga had that obsessive look in his eyes. "When I find the cretin that hurt you I shall -" 

"Fill in the hole?" 

Ryouga blinked, caught off guard. "Huh?" he said intelligently. 

Megumi smiled at him. "I fell. I stepped in a hole in the road and I fell. It was my own fault." 

"It was a deep hole. Though you should have been looking where you were going." Sano slouched defiantly at the other end of the porch from Megumi's perch. 

"Why, are you actually defending me? Come now, I'm the one that fell! Did you hit your thick chickenhead recently? Let me take a look." Megumi beckoned at Sanosuke with a very vulpine grin on her face. The young man looked pained even though it was the woman who was injured. 

"You don't have to tease me for bein' on your side." It was a lame response, and he knew it. "I'm going for a walk." 

Megumi looked at Kenshin and Kaoru, while Ryouga and Yahiko shared a glance. Sano had been going for a lot of walks lately instead of reacting as he once had, and was taking Megumi's teasing harder and harder. It was clear something would have to be done about this, and soon. It wasn't just the Jusenkyou curse. Sano's feelings were becoming more and more clear, and it was equally obvious that she didn't really return those feelings in depth. It was beginning to become not only worrisome but irritating. After all, the guy wasn't stupid. He had to know she didn't reciprocate his love for her, but it seemed he couldn't control it any more than she could control her feelings for Kenshin. It was how he handled it that worried his friends. Sano had been more depressed and angry in the past several weeks than he had been in years. Kenshin, most of all, felt the need to do something to ease his friend's mind and distract him from the confusing situation, yet by the same token, Sano saw him as a rival. It could only make things worse if he said or did the wrong thing. 

"I'll go after him." Kenshin headed for the door. 

"No. Let me. Please." Ryouga stepped forward. "I know what he's going through." He cast a questioning glance at Megumi who nodded and he ran off after the taller man. 

Once, during a recent session, Ryouga had told her the entire story of his own situation back in his own time, in the future. How he'd met Saotome Ranma, how the rivalry born long before he'd ever met Tendou Akane had come to be. What had happened after he'd met Akane, and the very awkward situation with Ranma and all his fiancees. Especially Akane. 

"Ryouga's been the good friend too." 

Kaoru blinked. "Don't you mean_ a_ good friend?" 

Megumi shook her head and summarized the situation, ending with a sigh. "So he knows what it's like to love someone who's really in love with someone else, who happens to be a good friend no matter what the circumstances. And if not for the curse of Jusenkyou, he would never be anywhere remotely near this kind of mess. I feel like it's my fault." 

"You can't think that way, Megumisan! You can't just give up. I know you'll find the cure. You've got to." Kaoru chose to ignore the part about loving someone in love with someone else. 

Megumi nodded. 

"Megumidono..." 

"Hai?" 

"Do you remember what we talked about once, not long after we met?" 

Megumi smiled ruefully at Kenshin. "We talked about a lot." 

"We talked about giving up." 

Megumi nodded. "You're the one who showed me that I've got skills people need. You protect people from each other, then I help patch things up once you're done." 

Kenshin smiled. "Hai. I've never really thought about it that way." 

"I have." But Megumi smiled again, not so negatively, and she knew things would work themselves out. They had a way of doing that. 

Yahiko shrugged at Kaoru. "Does this mean we can eat real cooking for a change?" 

Kaoru glared back and dove for her student, who didn't duck quickly enough. In moments they were pulling hair, faces, anything they could reach, and screaming insults back and forth. Megumi looked back at Kenshin. 

"The more things change, the more they stay the same... But some things are better off not changing." 

Kenshin held up the heated kettle and smiled his agreement.


	7. Chapter 7

Kenshin was excited. That much was obvious as he came down the road, helping Megumi along on her crutches. The doctor, too, looked thrilled.

"We're so close, Kensan, so close to a cure! My delay idea is working, and I think one more day ought to do it!" It wasn't the first time during the walk home she'd said so, and Kenshin could hardly blame her. The idea of being relieved at last of the burden of his occasional womanhood had definite appeal.

Megumi had altered the formula so that from a few seconds' delay, there was a good ten minutes before the change took effect. The point was not to make it a very long time before the change, nor even to be able to counteract it in advance, but to cancel it completely, and Megumi's last trial had turned Kenshin female but with his own red hair and certain other features not as obviously altered. It was a good thing, he reflected, that he only changed gender. If Sanosuke had to walk around as a part chicken, part human some of the time...

He did not run ahead to the dojo, but the others heard the excited tones in Megumi's voice and his own and came outside. In the three weeks since her ankle had been broken, Megumi had only been working for about one and a half on the cure, and Sano had barely spent any time at the dojo. He no longer lent his time to the doctor for her experimentation on finding a cure. She couldn't really fault him. Things were getting too awkward.

Well, once Ryouga went home, as there could be no doubt he would, perhaps he and Kaoru might find comfort with one another. Kenshin had been spending more time at the clinic helping her than the others, and it was becoming clear to everyone that the chicken's pursuit of the fox was fruitless.

Kaoru felt bad for Sano, but she and Ryouga spent more time practicing than anything else. Kaoru had been shocked when, after being knocked off balance by Ryouga's strength and developing skills, he'd kissed her after helping her up.

Practice had been cut short that evening.

She knew he would leave soon, once the cure was found. She knew she couldn't go with him; their lives trod different paths. But for now, she would enjoy her time with him.

When she and Ryouga were off together, Yahiko had been wandering over to the Akabeko to visit with Tsubame. Their young friendship was definitely growing into something with potential. Of course they were taking their time about it. They were young, they had all the time in the world. Why shouldn't they make the most of it at their own pace?

Sano, however, spent a lot of time gambling with his friends and getting drunk. He knew that the answers were not found in a bottle of sake, but he simply couldn't cope with the idea that he'd lost out. Certain competitions weren't the kind you could fight out and have a clear-cut winner; sometimes the one who lost the fight won the prize. Did he always have to lose out to Kenshin? He knew he wasn't being fair, but sometimes it seemed to him the redhead had it all. He always won the fights, got the girls, earned respect wherever he went, and he was one of those guys that you couldn't hate once you knew him, no matter how much you might want to. It was so damn infuriating!

The worst part, for him, was seeing the shy smiles and long looks Kenshin shared with Megumi. They never kissed or held hands or anything. Kenshin was almost thirty, for crying out loud! What was he doing acting Yahiko's age?

The ex-gangster decided to head down to the dojo to see what was going on. If you were going to kick yourself, after all, why not go for it with both legs?

When he got there, he was surprised to see the party that seemed to be getting into full swing. It wasn't a very big party, granted, but Kenshin and Megumi had cooked and Kaoru had decorated the dojo a little.

"Sano! Come in! You're just in time!"

"What's going on?"

"I'm finally getting close to something." Megumi beamed ecstatically from the porch where she sat.

Sanosuke's eyebrows rose. "Is that so." He stifled the impulse to ask, "Other than Kenshin?" It really wasn't fair of him to be so petty. After all, she did deserve to be happy, and it wasn't like he treated her all that well most of the time. Besides, Kaoru was much too violent for Kenshin, and too young. And here he was trying to rationalize to himself that the woman he loved was better off with another man.

"Hai! I think within a week at the extreme, I'll have it. I'm definitely getting close to finding the cure!"

At least maybe she'd stop grabbing his ear and dragging him around by it all the time.

No one had seemed to notice his black mood until Ryouga pulled him aside a few drinks later.

"I've got this great technique, if you want to learn it. You use your depression to kick some serious butt." He smiled tipsily, trying to focus on Sano.

"I think I'll pass, thanks. You gotta learn to hold your liquor better first." Sano grinned. "Now that's something I can help you with."

"Why would I wanna hold it when I can drink it?" Ryouga giggled as if he'd said some classic line.

Sano looked at him askance. "Umm, yeah. Sure, kid." He rolled his eyes and took another swig from the jug he hadn't put down. Some people just couldn't take the good stuff.

"Hey!" Yahiko piped up giddily. "I wonder if cold sake works on you guys as well as water!"

"Oro?" Kenshin backed away quickly, afraid to be the test subject.

"EE-" Kaoru was not so lucky. An inebriated tanuki made for an interesting sight, but Ryouga and Yahiko were least prepared for it. They lost it completely, collapsing in hysterics directly proportionate to the amount they'd each imbibed. Megumi stopped in the middle of pouring for Kenshin to giggle.

"Oiy, oiy, jouchan, you look funny as a drunken tanuki!" Sano was beginning to feel the effects as well; he'd been drinking like there was no tomorrow since before he'd come. And until it had started kicking in, he hadn't cared if there would be one, but the alcohol and the general mood affected him as much as his friends with less capacity for drink than himself.

Yahiko waved the now empty jar of sake triumphantly over his head. "She's almost tolerable to look at now!"

"Drink 'til she's cute," Ryouga giggled.

Sano stared at him in wide-eyed wonder. "That's brilliant!"

"Kensan... Would you like a little more, Kensan?" Megumi smiled slightly out of focus at him as she poured him another round. "Can I have a ship... sip... of yours?"

Kenshin smiled a little nervously as she took it from him and tossed it back. He was beginning to think that maybe this party wasn't such a good idea.

For once, the normally sadistic being that dictated their lives had a shred of mercy, or maybe not. Genzaisensei popped his head into the dojo, followed by two very excited little girls.

"Party! Party! Can we have a party too?" Ayame led her sister inside.

"Yeah, we want to party too!" Suzume bounced happily after her sister, until Genzaisensei shooed them outside.

"Go on and play for a moment, girls. I've got to do a little doctor work for our friends."

The girls nodded and trudged out, Suzume sadly proclaiming, "But we wanted to party too."

"We can party soon, girls." The grandfather turned to his friends. "Well, I might have expected this of some of you, but even you, Megumisan?"

The woman, who had been hanging adoringly on Kenshin, looked up at her colleague. "Would you like some, Genzaisensei?" She waved a jar in his direction.

"No thank you. I have something even better." The old doctor smiled benignly. "It's in my bag outside." He turned back to the door. "I'll be back in an instant."

A moment later, there was a very loud cacophony of yipping, clucking, "bweeee"ing, and feminine outrage, plus the disgruntled and abruptly sober yells of an infuriated Yahiko; the tanuki had already been doused. "What'dja do that for?"

Genzaisensei merely kept smiling.

Kenshin pouted. Megumi had been teaching him the art of using his feminine wiles to get the best of a situation. He'd been a quick study, especially when she had told him to think of it as merely another form of fighting. One, she had reinforced, that had often stood her in good stead in many a conflict; it was a wonderful thing to be able to throw your opponents for a loop. He had to agree. Except now that the cure was in sight...

Well, seize the moment and the advantages thereof. "But Genzaisensei, Megumidono's close to finding a cure for this. What's wrong with a little party?"

Jaws dropped as everyone else turned to Kenshin. Even the svelte vixen herself looked surprised. The problem with the progress she had been making was each time you changed, the cure lost potency if it wasn't taken first.

"Well, Ken- ahh, Himurasan..." Talking to a female Kenshin always seemed to throw the doctor off, and this new tactic definitely left him flatfooted. "Ah, I suppose a little celebration is all right, but I believe this passed the limits of a small celebration. Now," he continued as he began regaining his composure, "Let's get you all cleaned up and back to your normal selves. I think I may have some information Megumisan may find useful in her search for a remedy. But not before you've all been restored." Genzaisensei looked stern. "And only after I have been fed."

Somehow no one seemed surprised at that condition. Fox and tanuki slipped out of the room towards their own chamber where one heated kettle waited, with Kenshin in red-faced tow while Yahiko got the hot kettle from the main room. Megumi's face was pained as she hopped on three legs.

"Kaorudono, please help Megumidono with her leg," the blushing rurouni said with her eyes closed. for Kenshin, it was the principal of the thing. He wouldn't look, whether he was a he or a she at the time. For some reason, every time he changed, he remembered that discussion at the baths, and how the girls had tried so valiantly not to look. Well, he'd hoped they were trying not to look. He put down the kettle and ran out of the room, still red-faced, to go affect his own cure.

"He's such a character," Megumi smiled affectionately as she was dressing with Kaoru's help. Her leg, of course, had to be resplinted - under the circumstances she and Genzaisensei had agreed that it would be impractical to put on a proper cast. Still, she looked pale; the damage had been done and though it hadn't been broken again, her healing was definitely set back.

Kaoru went to get Megumi's crutches without a word.

They gathered back in the main room to find Kenshin and Ryouga mopping up the water while Sanosuke and Yahiko collected the empty bottles and jugs of sake. Those that still had liquid in them were stacked neatly by the wall. Genzaisensei sat with his granddaughters on his knees watching the whole production.

"Good. Everything seems back in order. Well, Megumisan, as for the news I have..."

"Hai?"

"The information... Oh dear. I seem to be unable to recall on an empty stomach." The old doctor's eyes gleamed with mischief as his granddaughters giggled.

"Well, I do have some onigiri left over from before." Kaoru rose to get them as she spoke.

"That will be wonderful. Now, Megumisan, a friend of mine sent me a letter. He'll be coming through this way very soon; in fact I expect him tomorrow. He's been traveling for several years, and I mentioned to him the problem at hand. With luck, he happened to be in China when he received the news, not far from Jusenkyou." He smiled as Kaoru came back with the onigiri and began stuffing his face. Sano and Yahiko watched him in something close to awe.

"How can he eat those?" Yahiko's voice wasn't quiet enough. As often as Kaoru hit him, it was a wonder his skull was in one piece. Sano, for once, kept chewing quietly on his fish bone.

"Genzaisensei? Please continue." Megumi was straining to be patient with the other doctor.

"Hm? Oh, yes." He paused in his voracious consumption of Kaoru's rice balls. "As it turns out, he was able to get a sample of the water you all need to change back. The problem is he doesn't even have enough of each for one person and diluting it will have some bad repercussions."

"But what good will that do?" Kaoru looked confused.

"If I have the original, I might be able to dilute the effects... I could recreate the water!"

"We could be cured!" Sanosuke dropped his fish bone in his mad dance of joy.

"That's wonderful news." Kenshin smiled. "Megumidono, how soon do you think it will take?"

"Well, now... I can't really say until I try, can I? I don't expect to take long."

Ryouga had not said a word, instead hanging on to this new hope with every ounce of his energy. It was thrilling news; once he had the cure he could try and get back to his own time, except it would mean leaving Kaoru and all these others behind. That was a difficult prospect to face, but there was always Akane, and he did have a score or three to settle with a certain gender switching martial artist about a hundred years or so from now.

"I suppose I'll go back to my own room tonight, so that the sooner I have the water, the sooner I can start working on a cure." Megumi smiled and rose with the help of her crutches. "Thank you all for the support. And here's hoping within a week, that we get this over with!"

No one seemed to have any objections.


	8. Chapter 8

Megumi couldn't believe it. "Girls, go get your grandfather." She stared at her hands in surprise, at the cold water in the bucket she hadn't set down.

She dumped it over her head again. She'd always noticed a peculiar twinge immediately after dousing no matter how long a delay there was before the actual change before, but now there was no twinge. Her ankle had healed enough for her to manage by herself, but she didn't notice the pain at all at that precise moment. She picked up another bucket and poured it over her head. Still no twinge! Another bucket of water, just because she could. "Three's a charm!" she squealed happily as her colleague was dragged in by two excited little girls.

"It's done? You found it?" Genzaisensei lit up almost as much as Megumi had. "Sugoi! That's wonderful! We'd better go tell everyone right away! Get everything together!" He was all but hopping around, as Megumi half wished she could do. It wasn't dignified but at this point who cared?

The old doctor insisted on carrying everything but the still-dripping doctor herself as they hurried carefully to the dojo. Genzaisensei knew just how precious his burden was and had his granddaughters stand guard duty on either side of him as Megumi hopped along ahead of him a little way, using her crutches to fairly fly down the road to the dojo with the news and the cure. At last, at last she had found it! No more embarrassing moments!

"Kensan! Kaoruchan! Come look! I've found it!" she cried as she approached the dojo. "Ryougasan! Sano! I've found the cure!" Megumi glowed as Kenshin swept her up in his arms.

Yahiko looked up from his practice. "You mean I'm off the hook?"

"Not quite," Kaoru smirked as she let his slip go. She ran for the gate to let Megumi and her entourage in – Kenshin had been, of course, buried up to his elbows in laundry when she arrived and was drying his hands. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! Look!" Megumi balanced on her crutches and leaned over, picked up a bucket of cold water that Kenshin had standing ready for the laundry and upended it over her own head.

They watched her in silence. "Where's Sanosuke?"

"Sanosuke who?" The tall ex-gangster appeared from inside with Ryouga in tow - apparently they'd been practicing martial arts without weaponry for both were shirtless and sweaty.

"Wow do you stink!" Yahiko backed away from them, holding his nose.

"Shut up kid."

"Who you callin' a kid?" Yahiko was chewing on Sanosuke's head in slightly less time than it took to blink. Sano decided to ignore him, which for some reason irritated Yahiko further.

"So what's all the fuss about?"

"Megumidono found a cure!" Kenshin was beginning to believe as Megumi showed no signs of changing.

"Ryouga, there's enough for you to take home for you and four other people here."

"I think I'll take mine with me when I go home, instead of now." Ryouga smiled. "I've waited this long, a little more won't kill me." There was an altogether wicked gleam in his eye which suggested he had a plan…

Kaoru smiled at him. "You're so strong-willed! I could never wait that long!"

"Speaking of waiting, Megumidono..." Kenshin looked sheepishly at the young doctor.

"Of course! Assistant!" She smiled haughtily as Genzaisensei waddled up, deliberately playing the role up.

"Yes, my lady mistress, right here, my lady mistress." He handed her a large vial full of what looked like any ordinary well water.

"Kaoruchan, glasses if you please?"

Kaoru nodded and ran inside as Megumi carefully opened the bottle. "This is for the boys. The other bottle, assistant!"

Genzaisensei pulled out the other one, somewhat smaller, with a flourish and a bow as he handed it to his colleague. "As you wish."

Ryouga looked carefully. It wouldn't be that difficult to remember - the cure for the men came in a squarish bottle while the one for the women had a curvy outline. He watched Megumi pour a little of each into separate glasses - one for Kaoru of the female, one each for Kenshin and Sanosuke of the masculine.

Each downed the liquid and looked around.

"I don't feel any different." Sanosuke looked suspicious.

Megumi didn't answer save to pour cold water over him.

"Hey!" Sanosuke blinked. He was about to keep yelling when it dawned on him. "I don't feel any different! I used to get a little twitch, and now it's gone!"

Kenshin and Kaoru took turns dousing themselves and exclaimed with joyous agreement.

Yahiko was not going to be left out of this one. "WATER FIGHT!"

Within moments, the front yard of the Kamiya Dojo was a mess of mud and laughing participants. Even the normally dignified doctor Genzai, Megumi on her crutches, and the two little girls discarded all concerns, cavorting around and throwing water indiscriminately at each other. Megumi did, however, make sure to tightly seal the bottles before getting involved.

She was dancing around on the crutches as freely as the others when she slipped in the mud. Kenshin caught her up before she even hit the ground and gazed into her eyes for a moment. None of the others existed as his lips met hers, caught up in the euphoria of the moment and the feelings that had been building slowly. The world around them vanished as her arms went around him for support as well as closeness. Megumi was sure life could not be more perfect as she responded to Kenshin's kiss.

She was right. Cold water splashed heavily on them both and they pulled apart, laughing.

Yahiko held a bucket with one hand and his nose with the other. "Ew. At least cold water's still good for something!"

Even Sanosuke and Kaoru joined in the laughter.


	9. Chapter 9

Epilogue

Ryouga ran through the woods, exhilarated. He'd been traveling for almost a week, barely stopping to eat or sleep. He chanted his usual mantra for Saotome Ranma's death as he made his way through bushes and around trees, but his heart wasn't entirely in it. He had the cure! His plan was to take the cure in front of Ranma, maybe even give it to Shampoo and Mousse and even Genma if he was good about it. And then while Ranma watched, prove that once and for all he was free of the curse! But then maybe, if Ranma was nice about it, he'd even share it with him, but only for the sake of the beautiful doctor who'd shown him that two wrongs don't make a right - in this case.

He hoped he could get lost enough to make his way back to the time he knew as his own. "If I try to find it, I don't know where I'll end up. Maybe if I try to find my way back to the Meiji era..." He ran through the woods, cursing when he was slapped in the face by a particularly sharp branch, dodging around endless trunks and roots and wild animals. He'd been running for hours but it seemed like less. However, it was beginning to grow dark and he figured he'd best find shelter.

The woods came to an abrupt end on a scene that looked vaguely familiar. There were lights ahead, and buildings, but it was still quite some distance away. Too tired to figure it out, he curled up in a pile of leaves at the edge of the forest and made himself comfortable for the night. He sighed resignedly at the clouds that were gathering overhead, but there was not much he could do about it if it rained.

He woke the next morning to a pile of wet leaves and loose clothes. Sighing again, P-chan wriggled out of the pile and wondered how best to make his way onward. Somehow he managed to push his pack and other belongings onto his shirt. Picking up the sleeves in his mouth, he trudged on slowly. No matter how strong he was, it was a difficult burden that he carried in his current form. Somehow, there had to be an easier way but he hadn't yet figured it out.

Slowly he made his way to the buildings he'd seen up ahead.

This was definitely familiar. He thought perhaps he'd spent enough time here to recognize it. This was Tokyo - the Tokyo he'd left, the Tokyo where Akane lived, and where Saotome would at last learn humility! Excitement filled his system and he picked up the pace. It HAD to be Tokyo!

It was strange. For the first time in his life, he was winning! REALLY winning! He wasn't lost, and he had the cure for the Jusenkyou curse, and he could cure himself and the others once and for all, except of course for Ranma, and THEN see what chance the sex changing jerk had with Akane! Ryouga almost feared letting his hopes get too high.

Fortune was with him. Luck was with him. The dice were all on his side, everything was coming up roses, this was finally his day! Ryouga stopped in front of the Tendou household. It was during school hours; Ranma and Akane would be at school but Tendou Soun would be around. And because his luck was going so well, Ryouga was pleased to see the Tendou patriarch relaxing in a hot bath when he walked in. He climbed into the tub, rose, and walked out quietly, wrapping a towel around himself as he went back for his clothes.

He saw Shampoo careening by on her bicycle and called out to her. "Hey, Shampoo!"

"Hm?" The startled cyclist looked around. "Oh, is only Ryouga." She looked disappointed.

"Shampoo, I have a cure! But there's a hitch. I'll give it to you if you gather the others that have been cursed here by the time Ranma and Akane get back from school."

"Cure?" Shampoo looked skeptical. "Why Shampoo believe you?"

"I know there's no reason but you've got to believe me!" Something in his expression must have convinced her.

"Okay, Shampoo bring IF Shampoo have cure first!"

"Yes! Yes, Thank you Shampoo! Thank you!" Ryouga settled back as she pedaled off. The stage was set. As long as Akane wasn't there... But his luck was such today that he would be safe of that, he was sure.

The time passed slowly, but it wasn't all that long really before Shampoo had returned with Mousse. Genma and Soun heard the commotion and came out - wherever Shampoo went, there was a commotion. Ryouga quickly outlined his plan to the others and was amazed at how quickly they agreed. This was certainly too good to be true! He prayed it would last long enough to make his ultimatum...

Just in time, too, for at that moment who should arrive but Ranma. Soun waited for him out front.

"Hello, Ranma. Where's Akane?"

"Ah, she had some club she wanted to stick around for. She'll be home later I guess."

"I see. Well, in any event, you have some friends over to visit."

"Huh?" Ranma trotted inside to face the gang of four - Ryouga, Genma, Shampoo and Mousse.

Ryouga heard the conversation, privately thinking that Kenshin's "Oro" was so much more pleasant to hear. "Saotome."

"What do you want, Ryouga?" He registered the others. "Shampoo and Mousse? Pops, what's goin' on?" Ranma looked to his father suspiciously.

"Ryouga here says he has a cure." The old man gave not an inch.

"The cure? GIMME!"

"Ah ah ah, it's not so easy as that. Ryouga wants to have a word with you first." Mousse looked smug. "And he's not the only one."

"Mousse, Ranma over THERE!" Shampoo turned the myopic Amazon around to face Ranma. "That coat rack you look at!"

"Oh." Mousse looked embarrassed.

"Saotome Ranma, I have traveled many miles, crossing even the barriers of time. I have spent weeks in strange circumstances struggling to survive against the odds but I have come back at last to the Tokyo I know as my home, to win the heart of the fair Akane and to teach you a lesson you'll not soon forget! Learn humility, Saotome Ranma! Learn shame, for I have found the cure for the curse of Jusenkyou!"

"Okay so what's the catch?"

"There is no catch! Only learn humility as I cure all the rest of us, and perhaps I shall give you the last dose! Beg for it, Saotome!" Ryouga glowed with battle aura and a greedy look. At last, at last revenge was his! The sweet taste of victory!

"Give cure, Ryouga!" Shampoo looked like she was losing patience.

Ryouga looked at her, irked that she had spoiled his moment, and reached into his pocket.

And into his other pocket. And into every crease and crevice of his clothing. And into his pack, emptying the whole thing onto the floor, searching frantically among its contents. Where was it, where was the vial with the cure! It had to be here, it had to, he could not have lost it, not and come so far -

He stared in shock at his scattered belongings on the floor. His cry echoed across distance, across hearts, across time itself. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo!"

_It had been a week since Ryouga had left. Megumi rested her head on Kenshin's shoulder with Sanosuke standing behind them as Kaoru and Yahiko practiced in the yard. "Such a beautiful day. I wonder if Ryouga got home all right. Will get home all right?" _

_Kenshin smiled at her. "I'd like to think he did. He will?" _

_"Doesn't matter, really. As long as we're cured." _

_"Oh Sano, stop being such a chickenhead." _

_"Fox." _

_"Yare, yare..." _

_Well, at least things were back to normal at the Kamiya Dojo. _


End file.
